Walking Dead - Jake
by Mland22
Summary: Based on the innovated game adaptation of the Walking Dead by Telltale Games. Follow survivor Jake & his little brother Max as they attempt to survive on their own. Much like in the game, actions will be available at the end of each episode. Choose one to progress the story. Enjoy.
**Season One - Part 1: Two Brothers**

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 **247 days since outbreak...**

Jake resettled the boy on his backside. His little eight year old brother, Max, had his legs tucked around his old brother's stomach as they walked through the forest. It had been three hours since their last break and already Jake could feel his legs tiring and screaming, begging for him to stop. Max must have sense his unease because he stopped being silent.  
"How much farther?" Jake smiled, _at least it isn't the usual car trip question._  
"Not far. Hopefully we should reach there by tomorrow morning, if not this evening." Jake raised his arms to stretch, causing Max to grip tighter lest he fall off his brother.  
"Please don't do that," he muttered shakily, his hands trembling around his brother's neck.  
"Why?"  
"I thought I'd fall off." Jake smiled again.

The endless forests of the Olympic National Park were doing his head in, though it was beautiful. Generous shades of green with the crisp white snow that began melting into the new rivers with spring. As with spring, new life began filling into the cracks with new plants and animals. Jake had been tempted over the pass two weeks of travelling to shoot anything he found along the way, despite him and his brother carrying enough food to sustain them till their next location. Jake, was glad that his brother was here. Recently he'd found the pistol a little too close to him, scared of randomly firing it and causing a horde to swarm down on them. They arrived into a clearing containing a lake with trees surrounding the entire perimeter. Max hopped off his piggy bank and sighed in relief.  
"Water," Jake couldn't agree more. Together they walked down to the bank. Whilst Max ran on ahead Jake did the one thing he always hated. He looked behind him and around, his right hand reaching for his right front pocket. Pulling out his pneumatic pistol, he watched their approach.

Max, took off his small blue backpack and filled his bottle-esc device. When they'd been leaving hope they'd packed their camping supplied, with it were two water filtering bottle. Supposedly good at stopping most virus and bacteria, the caps had built in nano-sieves for pollutants. Max filled his bottle and began chugging.  
"Slow down," Jake responded, slightly annoyed. "You'll need to go to toilet faster otherwise. Take sips." Max sighed, rolling his earthen brown eyes. Jake looked into the water, his own reflection staring at him. Sure, he was something. His friends had teased him for being sexually ignorant for not noticing girls hitting on him. All he saw were brown eyes, blonde with dirt and grime smugged from sleeping in nature. Whatever natural beauty he had didn't matter now. The dead didn't care how his face looked. The image was suddenly distorted as an object sunk into the water nearby. Panickin, Jake pulled out the pistol and took aim over his shoulder where he'd last seen Max. Immediately his brother dropped to his stomach allowing him to see past his kin and look into the forest.

"Hello?" Jake called, his voice quivering in sheer panic. He waited, nothing moved or changed. "Whoever threw that come out," Jake watched as Max slowly stood up and raised his hand. His own hair a mix between their mother's blonde and fathers black. Jake sighed in relief, pocketing the gun. "What was that?" He asked bewildered. Max picked up another stone and threw it into the lake. It landed with a solid, plop. Max turned to Jake,  
"Sorry for scaring you." Jake sighed again.  
"Look, just please warn me if you do something like that again. I'd hate to have actually fired the gun." Max's eyes turned dark, as he remembered.  
"Yeah, got it." Jake looked back at the gun in his pocket before back to his brother.  
"Come on, let's teach you to skim stones." Max, as it turned out was a natural. After a mere five minutes, he beat Jake's run of four with six. Realising he'd never hear the end of it, Jake returned to the water's edge where their bags and supplies were. Placing both hands into the cold water he brought it to his face and began cleaning. First it was the nose, followed by the back of the neck then cheeks and eyes. After five minutes of solid running, Jake filled his bottle and began sipping away. Max was still laughing at the stone as they skimmed across the water, ever so lightly bouncing on the tensile surface.

After that it was lunch, a simple meal of breakfast biscuits. A small yellow packet for each of them.  
"And today's flavour is..." spoke Jake dramatically as he ripped open his packet and pulled out the two biscuits inside. The top showing a white drizzle and a few black spots. Jake looked bemused, Max opened his to find the same.  
"What is it?" Jake poked the black spots to find them solid.  
"Either it's double chocolate or some kind of yoghurt one again." Jake bit into the first one and smiled incredibly. "Chocolate." Max smiled and bit into his before changing into dismay.  
"Yoghurt," he muttered before continuing to nibble with somewhat less enthusiasm than before. Jake took one from his packet and swapped it with one of Max's before he could protest.  
"Even, little Steven."  
Max groaned at his dad's nickname, "Can't wait to see him again," he remarked as Jake looked back down at his biscuit. Guilt crushing his chest.  
"Yeah," he remarked looking at his brother with a forced smile. "We'll see them at the usual place every year. Anyway, you know what comes next." Max sighed but stood up.

The following hour was practicing self defence. Jake, alike most his friends had mastered combative Tai-chi in high school which had proven useful in many street fight during the initial days on the streets during the outbreak when people had begun scattering or attacking people. They began with simple and basic blocks followed by attacks and disarm. Eventually, Jake hoped, Max could hold his own, if only for a few seconds. As much as Jake taught Max how to fight, he knew Max would never win. Max, for one, didn't have the size nor strength to fight a fully grown man on his terms. Jake knew it wasn't much but it helped, keeping them both at peak physical condition. Being nineteen, he'd never had abs nor did he expect to get them in this life. If he looked carefully he could see the potential but without proper gym equipment he'd be unable to do anything. Just as the two were stretching to finish their work out, a loud gunshot rang out. Looking to Max to see him still standing unwounded, they both ran to their bags. Picking them up and hoisting them over their shoulders. That's when Jake saw it, the brilliant orange and red glow of a flare rising to above the lake.

Jake and Max ran into the forest, Jake holding a map and compass desperately attempting to get an idea of where they were going. The flare might not have been coincidence... was someone following them or targeting them? Engrossed in his map, Jake tripped over a fallen log face first. The compass slipping through his fingers and falling into the dirt nearby whilst the map dropped into the ground beneath him, compacted beneath him at the grass.  
"I'll get the compass," remarked Max jumping past him and scrambling in the dirt. Jake picked himself up and the map brushed it off, a few dirt marks but nothing bad; to think he just cleaned his own face. Max pointed on the map at a body of water.  
"That's our lake isn't it?" Jake nodded before pointing at the central mountain before looking above the tree line at its local counterpart.  
"That's that, which means..." Jake checked the compass for location references. "We're here. The cabin's are just ahead let's keep going." Max and Jake continued their brisk pace through the forest. Constantly looking out for signs of threat. Max was the first to notice, the dead were moving, not initially for them but towards the noise and light of the flare. Upon seeing them however they changed direction. Jake grabbed Max's hand and ran, dragging him along through the forest. The dead were being out run easily. _How unlike the living_ , though Jake, as the two continued out through the woods.

They arrived to the cabins by nightfall; the duo had been running, walking and anything in between just to get there before darkness fell. Max was tired, his eyes barely able to be kept open. Luke was the same. Despite being older he'd grown restless through lack of sleep. The following area was a domestic mountain getaway currently under renovations. Although the buildings were complete, the business wasn't scheduled to open until a year, well... a third. Five cabins were nestled in a 'U' pattern leading to a central communal area. The dead were nowhere to be seen, hopefully they'd all followed the flare and wouldn't be nearby. Drawing a small hunter's knife from his bag's side pocket, Jake clung to the wall of the closest cabin. Max right behind. Jake held his breath but could hear Max's quick short breaths. Thinking it was just Max's nerves he looked around the corner. Lights were on in the first building but it wasn't electricity, the light flickered. It was fire; Candles probably. Jake looked down the side to the next structure. The next cabin didn't look too bad as it had no lights. Surely it would be wiser to check that place first. Max was still quicker behind him, he could feel it. Turning he saw his little brother starting to shake from the cold night air. Sneaking around the back of the houses, Jake quickly peeked in through a window. He was right, there were candles but no people. Either they'd left to do something or died. Hopefully the previous, he could see blankets, books and plenty of bottled water and food; definitely too much to just leave. Jake looked at Max, would he risk it? Max raised his bare hands to his mouth breathing on them in attempts to keep warm.

 **[Explore the Lit Cabin] OR [Explore the Unlit Cabin]**

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 **Author's Note:** Please review your answer to progress the story. The final chance to submit your vote is by **7 pm 19th April [GMT]**


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